The Middletown girls basketball team rebounded from a loss vs. Trinity on Jan. 30 with two key wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

They are No. 6 in the District III AAA rankings, with Trinity No. 1, Delone Catholic No. 2, York Catholic No. 3, Pequea Valley No. 4 and Hanover No. 5. Brandywine Heights and Susquenita are right behind the Blue Raiders by only percentage points. The top six advance.

They defeated Boiling Springs on the road Tuesday night, 63-51, then play host to Conestoga Valley on Thursday before finishing up at home vs. Lower Dauphin on Friday. The Falcons are 19-1 and sit atop the District III AAAAA rankings.

At home against Trinity, sophomore Kate Fitzpatrick had a game-high 24 points and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. But it wasn’t enough in the 58-47 loss.

The Blue Raiders trailed by only four heading into the fourth quarter, but the Shamrocks outscored them 18-11 to secure the win.

On Thursday, a big comeback fueled the Blue Raiders to the 53-47 home victory behind 48 points from Fitzpatrick and Nester.

Annville-Cleona led 12-3 after the first period, but the Blue Raiders got right back in the game with a 19-9 edge in the second to take the lead.

Fitzpatrick had 26 along with 10 rebounds and 5 steals. Nester had 22 with 5 rebounds. Koser added 2 points and 8 rebounds. Jae Keller had 2 points and 7 rebounds, and Morgan Noon scored just 1 point but collected 10 rebounds.

At West Perry on Friday, it was the Blue Raiders who got out to a quick start, leading 15-5 after the first quarter. But the Mustangs chipped away in the second to trail only 20-17 going into halftime.

They managed to outscore the home team 28-25 in the second half to secure the 48-42 win.

Once again, Fitzpatrick came up huge. She scored 28 points. Nester had 12, Koser had 6 and Keller added 2. Fitzpatrick is averaging almost 18 points a game.